Zombie Crowds: menyampah!

What makes a crowd GOOD:

- ENERGY! lotsandlotsandlotsandlots.

- A little bit of "Boo"s and A LOT OF "WHOOOO!!!!!" :) 

It's always funny to hear what we have to say about each band, but don't go over the top in being rude... I mean... a band is made up of people, so everybody has to respect everybody on OR off stage. 

- People who are there for music and music only. 

I speak with purpose! I cannot stand moshing and suddenly crashing into a group of people (usually girls, sadly), and they get all ANGRY at me for pushing. And I am just like... "If you don't want to get pushed around, get the hell out! Why are you just standing here, getting angry at people trying to have fun? Buat kitaorang takde mood je la kan...

What makes a crowd BAD:

- Standing still

Again, I repeat. Why go to a gig if you're just standing there?! Posing? For what? Sini tak ade photoshoot la, sorry.

- Rude crowd; 'Boo!', 'Korang suck!', 'Balik rumah la!'

Please. Bands are people, too. Jangan sangat kejam. Everybody in the music scene is like family. Respect, people... respect...

- Peraba + sesiapa yang kurang ajar

If you want girls, go out and find them. Don't take advantage. And if you nak cari pasal, go find mat rempits at night around KL. Don't find it here in the crowds when we're having fun.

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Yes, I am back, with another thought in my head.

I remember Sunburst Festival (March 2008), where one ticket costed RM200, or something like that. I remember going, thinking "OH MY GOD THIS WILL BE KICKASS HEBAT!" only to end up going home thinking "what the hell is wrong with the crowd?!"

Aku tak dapat faham - sampai sekarang! -  kenapa semua yang ada pergi kat Sunburst, rela bayar RM250 untuk berdiri2 saja. 

Dude, what's the point!?

I don't see the point in people getting all dressed-up and 'lawa' to a gig. It's only for show? And it annoys me a great deal more when they just stand there and look cool. They don't mosh, they don't pogo, they don't sing along... they just... stand around.

When Meet Uncle Hussain performed, NO one danced, except me, my three friends and a group of guys behind us. That was it. They only moshed to Lagu Untukmu, tapi I kena raba pulak. How are we supposed to stand this type of behavior!?

Then for Hujan and Love Me Butch, because it was raining, everybody was holding umbrellas. OH MY GOD korang dah mati ke pe!? I was just like.... "HELOOO what happened to the action? The singing along? The pogo/moshing?" Oh my god, geram!

The same thing happened for the majority of the bands that day kat Sunburst. Memang buat I menyampah je!

The Boys:

Usually seen with a group of similar looking people, wearing the same jeans, same shoes, same type of clothes. Why?

The Girls:

This really frustrates me, every time I see a girl go to a gig clad with make up and dangly earrings, bangles, bracelets, skirts, tight shorts... hello!? Look where you are, missy. You want to get raped? You want to just stand around and look pretty, and then naik darah kalau seorang cuba berkawan dengan you. Come on... Be realistic. 

This is a GIG not a shopping mall or a fashion show... -_-

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It's not only Sunburst, but even every minor indie, underground gigs jugak. What's the point of going all the way to a gig, and not be part of it? Why go to a gig and stand away from the crowd, looking in from the outside? Where's the fun in that?

Gigs are described in three words: Music, Sweat and Smell.

You go for music, end up sweating, and going home smelling. Setuju?

Gigs are made with efforts from the best, so make the best of the gigs you go to.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

SERIOUS ISSUE: Girls and moshing

Remember that era when Malaysia was dominated with a sudden spurt of all-girl rock bands?

When the riot-girls flooded the crowds at gigs? 

Korang dah pergi mane!? Well, the answer is simple...

Peraba.

This is a problem that's been bugging the Malaysian Indie scenes constantly, over and over! Girls fear to enter crowds, sebab diaorang takut diaorang kena raba.

Why?

WHY.

Why must the boys find such delight in touching a girl rudely, and/or calling names? 

People say "Eh, dalam scene ini, kitaorang kena respect sesiapa." 

Tapi? Where is the respect in girls' bodies?

Fikirlah.

When girls go into crowds:

- They get grabbed either at their boobs, butt or worse.

- They get harassed by men. "Eh, awek, kamu masih single, tak?" Blah, blah, blah. Are you guys there for music or for some action!? Seriously!

- Girls can't actually move around when crowdsurfing, because all the guys just hold on to them to get some skin. This is sick.

Now, because of the lack of experience the girls have when coming to moshing, girls worry about getting punched, getting bruised or scratched. They worry about getting trampled to death. They can't enjoy music the way everybody in the crowds are, and that is such a shame.

This issue is a big mind-poker and I cannot just let it go unnoticed. 

Everybody who is reading this, pass this on to all  your friends! 

Help Malaysian music become the most respectable one, even in terms of moshing. 

The word is : CHANGE. 

Ways you can help at gigs:

- When you see someone grab a girl, LET PEOPLE KNOW. Shout to let everybody know of what the person just did, and let people know it's not acceptable. Jangan malu, jerit dengan kekuatan, bagi semua tahu mamat tu adelah peraba.

- Help girls in defending themselves. Get trustworthy people to mosh around her. You and your group of friends. Kalau dia tak ada boyfriend, kamu cuba jaga dia, jangan biar peluang kat semua peraba yang sedang tunggu masa dalam crowd. 

- If you're one of the rude ones, stop. Doing things like these to girls is just not right. It makes you look like an idiot, makes everybody want to kick your ass, and decreases the chance of you having a girlfriend. Why the hell do you think you're still single? -_-

For the girls:

- Pakai hoodie. Seriously. Wearing a hoodie reallyyyy helps in disguising yourself. Setiap kali I pakai hoodie, I mesti tak kena raba. The last time I took my hoodie off, I got molested about ten times.

- Don't be afraid to fight back. If you know who touched you, SHOUT. Point at him. Push him away. People around you will  help you because they know the guy who did that was in the wrong.

- Go in groups. It is always safer to go with some people you know.

- If you get punched, or kicked, don't get angry. It's better than being grabbed. At least getting bruises from moshing shows the crowd was treating you as an equal, not a girl. 

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With Love,

KL Mosher

KungFu Mosh

Some call it hardcore moshing. Some call it the new moshing. 

I call it stupid.

Sure, sekarang dah ada banyak orang yang buat moshing macam tu. A lot of 'hardcore' gig-goers are doing it, together, same actions, like a dance tribe. But honestly, it just seems like another way to fight without getting into trouble for it.

You punch someone, and it's not wrong, because it's all part of what 'you are supposed to do'.

Apalah merepek ni?

Let me make the term "moshing" clear....

It's free movement. 

It's not windmill hands, not punches, not swirling kicks. NO. 

Moshing wasn't made to hurt people. But now, moshers are hurting people. Sengaja, pulak.

Dulu, kalau you pergi gig, and you get a bruise, everyone goes "Yeah, that was kickass gig!"

Now? You come out with a bruise, people say "Oh, you kena pukul, kan?"

-_-

That has completely ruined the art of music, the freedom everyone is supposed to have. There's no freedom in entering a crowd, worrying you're about to get your head slammed. 

After a huge amount of stress, all you want to do is vent it out at a concert, but you end up getting more pissed off because you're getting punched and kicked intentionally.

Think about it.

I know it's all about trying out something new, but there is limit. This is just a no-no. To connect this to moshing does not make sense, because moshing is in no relation to 'hurting people'.

Sure, the people doing it are having fun. What about those who just want to mosh normally?

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With Love,

KL Mosher

The 'Anti' movement: true music lovers?

Things I have learnt:

1) A frontman/vocalist of a band has to be very careful with how he speaks or acts, because people can pounce on his mistakes like vultures but forget the good things he did.

2) A band, no matter  how good their music is, will be hated just because of their 'attitude'.

- People who used to like a band, now say "Ew, I xlayan." Why? Most of the time, itu bukan sebab musik diaorang tak best. No, most of the time, it is because "vocalist dari band tu punya perangai macam babi, doh"

3) We have a lot of unoriginal budak indies. They follow trends, not their own liking.

- Why do you get a group of friends liking and hating the same band? That isn't because all of them hate that one band, it's just because they feel stupid being the only ones liking the band everyone hates.

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People are confusing MUSIC with musicians. Real musicians and real music fans will not hate a band because of attitude or because of following a trend, forgetting completely about the actual thing: MUSIC.

REMEMBER: Without respect, there will never have been the togetherness that made the music scene we have today. So don't break the respect by being disrespectful towards musicians or music in general. Here's what we must know; just because a band might have done disrespectful things, or made mistakes, itu tak maksud kitaorang kena kutuk diaorang. Kita selalu cakap tentang 'RESPECT' tapi I selalu nampak semua 'peminat indie' macam punya hati dendam je. 

But that's the problem. People love making a band feel or sound like shit the moment the band has reached stardom.

I will use Hujan as an example, because I can actually refer to them with actual information.

Hujan started out and worked hard to get to the top, to the position they are at now. They created music well loved by the crowds, music that even those that don't layan Hujan can sing along to.

They created a sound so many bands, like Hijau, Bootsy Ruckus and The Hujans (yes, there is a 'The Hujans') have been influenced by. What does this mean? This means Hujan was/is something.

Then the 'ANTI's began:

What went wrong? 

Some say it was the Akademi Fantasia issue.

Some say it was the issue of Noh's utterance on homosexuals.

Some say it's just Noh's attitude in general. 

WHY the ANTI-ism is pointless, especially coming from those who call themselves "budak indie"s. 

On Akademi Fantasia:

Hujan is not, and will not be, and was not, the only band that had been difficult in terms of people using their stuff. Many bands before had sued other musicians for copping, for stealing, etc. 

A question untuk korang:

Is it the fault of Hujan; who rejected the use of their ONE song without publicizing it... or is it the fault of the media, and those who judged and insulted; who made it such a big oh-my-god thing?

On Noh's 'homophobic' issue:

I don't want to comment much on that, I am only going to put this reminder:

Even if Noh is homophobic (something that no one really knows), he is NOT the only one. 

He is not the only frontman that commented, joked or offended homosexuals. Again, he will not, he wasn't and isn't the only one. 

On Noh's attitude:

Then there is the issue of Noh's attitude offstage. 

"Dia ni sombong, tak layan orang lain, ingat diri sangat hebat"

This is a repeated line I hear. But you know, aku selalu dengar orang bagitau "Kawan I cakap, Noh sombong."

Tapi I tak pernah dengar orang cakap "I pernah jumpa Noh, dia ni sangat sombong doh, dengan I".

The only person I talk to who actually talks with Noh, says Noh is feeling so damn stressed because he feels responsible for causing so much trouble untuk Hujan. So, kepada semua orang yang Anti-Hujan: Congratulations, korang dah menang. -_-

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WHY the 'Anti' Movements piss me off:

No true peminat muzik will really, truly hate a band. I am not just speaking as a Rainger, tapi bagai seorang yang sudah menyampah dengan perangai semua poser "budak indie".

If you do not like a band because of their music, that is acceptable. 

If you don't like a band because of the members, that just looks like you don't care about the music at all, just the people. Itulah perangai peminat muzik ke? I tak rasa doh.

Remember Johor? How Hujan had to leave the stage with broken spirits because of the major group of Anti-Hujan people throwing objects and words at them? The middle fingers, the bottles, the sharp objects.

Ask yourselves... is that the acts of true music fans? Is it? Would a true peminat muzik/budak indie purposefully destroy the works of a rising band just because they want to 'fck diaorang'? The fact that people think it is okay to be so rude makes me sick. 

A true musician will not "ANTI" any band, musician or genre. Why? Because music is universal, and every type of music was built upon hard work and determination. A true budak indie will not hate, but only say "I tak layan diaorang". Remember that.

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With Love,

KL Mosher

PS: Again, I repeat: I did not write this because I want to SUPPORT Hujan.

Imagine this:

Now everybody LOVES Meet Uncle Hussain.

What if one day, Lan tiba-tiba cakap dia 'gay'?

An Anti-MUH will form, NOT because of the music, but because of the member. This is what I mean. It is a sick movement. It should stop.